Science/Magic

The bird looked at Bloed with interest. It seemed slightly amused by Bloed's reaction.

"It looks like I was impolite. Very well, I'll not ask any more about the topic. Just seeing a puppet like her is already worthwhile. Besides, I'm also curious about you… A manaless child wielding strange powers… The power in your saber is very frightening but weak. I can see it comes from you, boy."

Bloed frowned. "What do you want?"

The bird put on a smile. "I'm just want to satisfy my curiosity. It has been a long time since the last time I had visitors, interesting visitors like you three are even rarer. Tell me, boy, how do your abilities work?"

Bloed fell silent. He was not planning to reveal his secrets to a complete stranger that he just men and could become an enemy.

The bird saw Bloed's expression and sighed. "Let's do it. We will exchange questions. One question each, and if you don't want to answer a question, I'll change it. What do you say?"

Bloed just looked at the bird with a sneer. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to ask you anything."

"Are you sure?" The bird fixed its gaze on Bloed. "I'm a demigod, you know? The number of valuable secrets and powerful information I have is uncountable. Besides… I'll give you a reward after all of this, that is my best offer."

Bloed fell silent. He looked at Regina to ask for her opinion. Regina though for a moment and nodded. Even she could see that the bird conditions were advantageous for them.

Besides, there was something they needed to know.

"Okay, I agree." Bloed said. "I will start asking. Who are you?"

The bird flapped its wings and flew closer to the group. "My name is Chorius. A Demigod. I'm one of the guardians of the Exiled Lands."

"Guardians of the exiled lands? What is that?" Bloed was surprised.

The bird grinned. "That is another question, and it's my turn now. Boy, what is the power than you and the pu– Regina use."

Bloed furrowed his brows. That question was much more valuable than his, however, he did not want to refuse Chroius's first question.

"… I can only tell you that it's called ESP. Extra Sensorial Perception." Bloed replied after thinking for a while.

The bird narrowed its eyes. "Extra Sensorial Perception, huh… Don't worry, the name is enough. You wanted to ask about the guardians, right?"

Bloed nodded.

"The guardians of the Exiled Lands are the demigods in charge of watching out for the reappearance of the Blight. There are five of us, each one keeping an eye on a part of the border. I'm the one guarding the swamp."

"The Blight?" Liu Ying was surprised. "Was it not destroyed one hundred years ago?"

Chorius shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Who knows? The Blight was so strange that even the gods are not sure about its destruction. Fortunately, it has not appeared again until now. Mmm, this answer was free. Courtesy of my part. Now it is my turn. Boy, the two dogs following you… Who created them?"

That was not a secret. Bloed easily admitted it. "It was me."

"Oh?" Chorius directed its gaze towards Bloed. "You are much more interesting than I thought, boy. Such perfect constructs, able of independent thought, shapeshifting, and with an energy source completely different from mana. Is it ESP too?"

Bloed shook his head.

The bird nodded. "I see. Okay, this is your turn."

Bloed thought for a moment about his next question, but Regina stepped forward before he could decide.

"What do you mean for an incomplete soul?"

"You don't know?" The bird seemed surprised by the question. "Your soul is incomplete. It's like a newborn soul that has not finished forming. Moreover, your soul is a bit strange… In fact, even I don't understand it completely."

Regina fell silent. She nodded briefly and returned behind Bloed.

Bloed was a bit worried about her, but when Regina smiled at him in reassurance, he was relieved.

Now was the bird's turn to ask a question.

"Your eyes are very beautiful." It said while looking at Bloed bright blue eyes. "Were you born with them?"

Bloed shook his head and looked at the bird. "I made them."

"Again?" The bird furrowed its brows in doubt. "I'm more and more curious about you, boy. Where are you from?"

Bloed wrinkled. "It's my turn, and I will not answer that question."

"My bad, my bad." The bird apologized with a chuckle. "I was a bit excited. Okay, do ask."

Bloed thought for a moment. He looked at the bird with a grave expression and asked the question he considered the most important. "How did you see through us?"

The bird chuckled. "So you are afraid of someone else sniffing your secrets, huh."

Bloed did not deny it. Although demigods were not something you could meet every day, Bloed did not want to risk it. He did not want a demigod chasing after Regina or him to dissect them and learn their secrets.

The bird chuckled again. "Don't worry about it. The reason I saw through the two of you is that my eyes are a bit special. A normal demigod will at most discover that you are manaless, but it will not find anything wrong with the puppet girl. Well, you should think of a way to hide your peculiarities, though. Not every demigod can see through your secrets, but I'm not the only one."

Bloed agreed. He needed to think about a solution to this problem.

Well, he had to deal with this bothersome bird first.

"My turn." Smiled the bird, but then, its voice turned grave. "What do you know about the Blight?"

After asking that question, the bird narrowed its eyes.

It did not explain it to Bloed and the others, but its eyes were not just a bit special. They could see through truth and lies, exposing the truth of everything on its sight. It was one of the reasons it was chosen to guard the Exiled Lands.

Since the start, when it fixed its eyes on Bloed and Regina, it was suspicious. After all, although it did not find traces of the Blight, Bloed and Regina were too conspicuous to not be suspicious.

Hence, this was the most important question of all. Depending on Bloed's answer, Chorius could have to kill them.

Bloed seemed to realize the seriousness behind Chorius's question. However, he just chuckled and shrugged. "We know nothing. We are not related to the Blight."

Chorius looked at Bloed and the other two for a moment. When it failed to find anything wrong, it smiled. "I see. That is good. Well, you can ask your next question."

Bloed shrugged. He had already asked everything he wanted to know.

Although he still had some doubts, it was not worth to exchange his secrets for the answers. He could investigate it later.

But before he could speak, Liu Ying raised her hand.

"I have a question."

Chorius looked at Liu Ying with a smile. "Tell me, descendant of the demon king."

Liu Ying stared at the bird with a cold look. She clenched her fist and took a deep breath to calm down and ask.

"How do you know who I am?"

The bird grinned. "… I met your father before, girl. Your bloodline is the same as his, almost completely identical. So, you can only be her sister or his daughter. And judging for your age, the answer is obvious."

Liu Ying fell silent. After thinking for a moment, she let out a sigh and nodded. "You can ask."

The bird looked at Liu Ying with a smile. "Your father and I were comrades once, so consider that answer as something free. Any other questions?"

The group remained silent.

Chorius nodded. "I thought so. What do you think about visiting my abode?"

...

Sorry for the late chapter. I posted yesterday chapter in P4TRE0N but was feeling a bit unwell so just posted it here now.

Remember to support me on P4TRE0N if you like this novel. Currently, P4TRE0N is 11 chapters ahead (I will add more chapters soon).

Your support motivates me to continue writting...

P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels